Despite the fact that the price of crude oil in international market has come down from more than $ 90 a barrel in mid-May to less than US$ 80 a barrel at present, this has not resulted in a similar drop in prices of synthetic yarn in India, says a fibre2fashion report
Ajit Lakra, President, Knitwear and Textile Association of Ludhiana said: "The crude oil prices have come down but the Government of India has not initiated any policy to bring down yarn prices correspondingly. The prices of synthetic yarn should decrease by Rs 10-15 per kilogram, but the companies have reduced it only by Rs 3-4 per kilogram as there is monopoly of some firms".
"The knitwear industry in Ludhiana is at present facing several other bottlenecks. The overall input cost is going up. Secondly, sales are not good as demand has dipped in both the international as well as domestic markets. Owing to dip in demand, manufacturers cannot increase the prices of their products. So, manufacturers, especially the smaller ones, are suffering,” Lakra lamented.
The unprecedented value-added tax (VAT) and high bank interest rates are also hurting the industry and the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are in a very bad state, the official said and added: 'In the absence of any new policy measures initiated by the Government, the knitwear industry in Ludhiana will be declining even more in the next couple of years and there will be lots of casualties among the SMEs'
